He is also president of 100 Black Men of Syracuse and a board member of community organizations, including the Gifford Foundation, Syracuse Stage and Vera House.

What leadership roles did you have growing up?
I wasn't in any leadership in terms of any clubs or organizations or things like that. I made mistakes, and I made some bad decisions, and that's why I think a lot of young people can identify with me because I share my story.

What put you on the path to success?
I went to Syracuse Central Tech High School, and I was thinking about going into the Coast Guard, hoping to go to college through a military scholarship afterward.

Without my knowing it, my guidance counselor had submitted my name for a scholarship at Florida A&M University. They were looking for people to major in accounting. I was strong in math and science and had good grades in those courses.

The guidance counselor called me into his office and said, "Vince what's your plan when you graduate?"

I was at a loss. I had applied to some schools and been accepted. But I didn't have a scholarship.

He told me, "I submitted your name for a scholarship to go to a school looking for accounting majors. Would you be interested in going to Florida A&M?"

That's how I ended up at Florida A&M University.

After graduation, I moved to San Francisco. I had a sister who was attending Stanford. She said they didn't have many minority professionals in that area.

I got a job as an accountant. I lived in San Francisco about three and a half years. Then I moved to Los Angeles where I had a position as an auditor.

Let's talk about 100 Black Men. What are you hoping to accomplish?
The elevator speech about 100 Black Men is that we are a chapter of a national mentoring organization known as 100 Black Men of America. The mission of the 100 is to improve the quality of life within our communities and to provide educational and economic opportunities.

We have decided that we are not going to sit back and wait for somebody else to do what we should be doing -- looking out for our children, our youth.

Our national organization has established four pillars of service: mentoring, education, health and wellness, and economic empowerment. Here in Syracuse, we have a strong emphasis on mentoring and education.

Our goal is to get a young person when he's in elementary school and keep him with us through college, and then have him turn around and come back and mentor younger people.

How do you know when you've reached your goals?
I don't think we'll ever get to the point where we can sit back, cross our arms and say, "It's done."

There's always going to be obstacles that our young people face. There's always going to be young people that need help.

There's a wide range of societal problems that probably will not be solved in my lifetime. Maybe the next generation's lifetime.

What propelled you into the position of president?
It wasn't something I had planned.

We had a recruitment social event. We wanted to talk about our vision and recruit people to participate.

There was a strange silence. Everybody was waiting: "OK, now that we're here, what do we do?"

I looked at some of the guys and nobody seemed to know. So I walked to the front of the room, and I began a conversation. I said, "Listen, this is why we're getting together. This is why the 100 is going to be an important organization for Syracuse and Central New York."

The wife of one of our members later told me, she leaned over to him and said, "There's your president."

So you seized initiative when leadership was needed.
I could sense the uncomfortable feeling that other people had. I could relate to them. So my desire was to ease their discomfort.

It was the desire to be of service. That has been the constant in my leadership style.
I remember reading Cornel West, who stated: "You can't lead the people if you don't love the people. You can't save the people if you don't serve the people."

That always stuck with me because that's the way that I approach leadership. I love this community and those I work with.

I may be in a leadership position, but I'm one of the foot soldiers.

I give my phone number to all the young men. I say, Listen, if you find yourself stuck in a bad situation, I don't care if it's 2 o'clock in the morning, you can call me. I'll be there for you.

I'll come get you, but I'm going to ask you on the ride back, "What are you doing?" You're going to hear it from me.

Let's talk about economic development and empowerment.
We understand many people have limited financial resources, but even with those limited resources there's a way that you can better manage them.

We have workshops on financial literacy. We're constantly trying to get people to see that there are better ways and smarter ways to handle their finances, with buying property, with starting a business.

Do you hope your organization inspires people to start their own businesses?
We want to inspire people to do whatever is on their mind and in their heart.

Anybody who has a passion for going into business themselves, that's great, and we will encourage that and help them.

There are people who don't want to go into business. They wouldn't mind being in corporate America or working at a business in a leadership position such as I do. We let them know that they can make a difference.

I've seen people start businesses, but they didn't have a passion for it. They weren't happy.

I have a friend in California who cut hair from time to time. Somebody convinced him to start a barbershop.

When it got to having to cut hair for people other than close friends, he just didn't have the passion to put up with it.

Even though going into your own business can be a good idea, if you don't have the passion, it might not be the best idea for you.

The "Sunday Conversations" interview runs regularly in The Post-Standard's Business section, featuring interviews with local citizens about leadership, success, and innovation. The conversations are condensed and edited. To suggest a person for Sunday Conversations, contact Stan Linhorst at slinhorst@syracuse.com.